What You Left Behind
by ToothPasteCanyon
Summary: Steven goes to Homeworld, much to the grief of everyone who loves him.
1. Chapter 1

_Knock, knock, knock_. The sound echoed through the van, and Vidalia stepped back at the sound of somebody fumbling their way to the back.

"Hello? Who's there?"

"Hey, Greg, it's me."

"Vidalia?" The van opened, revealing Greg. He looked awful; his hair was wild and matted, his eyes were bloodshot and moist, but he still managed a beaming grin at the sight of an old friend. "Vidalia! It's so nice to see you! What brings you here?"

Vidalia offered him a gift bag. "Well, I heard about what happened. I'm really sorry to hear about Steven; I dunno if this helps, but I thought I'd stop by and give you something."

"That's so sweet! Thank you!" He sat down on the van and opened the gift bag. "Hey, these are some great books! And some awesome music, too... huh, I haven't heard of this one. I'll have to listen to this later."

She sat down next to him, grinning. "That's the plan."

"This is really kind of you, Vi. You didn't have to do this."

"It's no problem. If anything, it gave me an excuse to clean up all the stuff lying around our house, hah! Yeah..." She looked over to Greg, her smile fading as she saw him looking up at the sky. "Hey. How're you holding up?"

"Honestly?" He sighed. "This has been the hardest week of my life, Vidalia. Steven... my son... he's gone. He's gone, and the Gems have no idea how to get him back. I feel like this is my fault, too; Steven, he had this idea in his head that Rose had him as part of some magical destiny or-or some grand scheme to, fix all her problems, and that's not true at all! I should've been clearer, I should've said... I don't know! I should have done something!"

Vidalia put a hand on his shoulder in silent sympathy.

"But now it's too late, and I don't know if I'm ever going to see him again." He wiped his eyes, looking over to Vidalia. "I'm sorry, this probably wasn't what you wanted to see."

"No, no. Don't apologise, Greg. After what happened? You've got to be going through hell."

"Yeah... Uh, how's Onion doing? I heard he also got mixed up in this."

"Onion? Yeah, he's alright. A little shaken, vows never to go to Funland again, but he's safe, thank god." She nodded. "It's been a crazy week."

"Yeah." Greg looked up at the sky again, as if to see the stars beyond. "I wonder what he's doing right now."

Vidalia didn't know what to say, so they watched the sky in silence for a little while. Eventually, she cleared her throat.

"Hey, Greg. You, uh, talk to the Gems, much?"

"The Gems?" Greg shrugged. "A little, but they say they want to be left alone right now. Must be making a plan, or something. It's okay, though; I got some new tunes to listen to! Thanks again!"

She stood up. "No problem, really. Anyway, if you ever feel like talking, you can always swing by my place, okay? Don't be a stranger."

Greg smiled. "I won't. You're a good friend, Vidalia."

"Same goes to you, Greg. Seeya around!"

* * *

 _Knock, knock, knock_.

"Hey, Sour Cream!" Vidalia called from the kitchen. "Can you get the door for me?"

The only answer was the house-rattling sound of music. She rolled her eyes.

"Onion? Hey, Onion, could you please get the door?"

Onion, sitting on the dinner table, took one look at the door and hid inside a counter.

"Okay, is there anyone in this house who can get the door? Anyone?" She sighed, and put a lid on her pot. "Fine, I'll get it."

She marched over the door and opened it. "Okay, whaddya- Greg?"

Greg had started walking away, but came back at the sound of her voice. "Hey, Vidalia! Is this a bad time?"

"No, no. Come in, we're just about to have dinner!"

"Oh, really?" He came inside, and looked around. "Man, this place has changed a bit."

"Yeah, two kids and a fisherman will do that to a house." She grinned. "You should be glad you didn't come a few days ago. Yellowtail left some fish out on the table and it stank like, well, dead fish."

"Haha, that sounds like a bother! Least in the van, you just open all the doors if anything smells. It's a good system."

Vidalia laughed, but then heard the sound of a pot boiling over. "Oh, crap! One second Greg, I gotta take care of this!"

She dashed off, leaving Greg to wander into the living room. He sat there, tapping his fingers to the tune of that music Vidalia gave him. It was nice, but like everything else, it could only distract him so long from the thought of Steven.

Was he safe? Was he hurt? Was he... no, he couldn't be. Sure he was being taken to Homeworld, to the Diamonds themselves, and they think he's Rose, but... well, he just had to hope that something, anything would happen. It was all he could do.

"Mr Universe?" Greg blinked and looked up to see Sour Cream looking down at him, hands in his pockets. Behind him was a woman wearing a purple doughnut shirt... one of Steven's friends, but he couldn't remember her name.

He stood up. "Sour Cream, it's good to see you! You've grown so tall!"

"Uh, hey," The doughnut lady gave a short wave. "I'm Sadie. You're, um, Ste- I mean, the guy from the carwash, right?"

"Yep, that's me. Been working there for years." He rubbed the back of his head. "You're Steven's friend, right?"

Sadie looked visibly uncomfortable. "Um, yeah. I-I heard about what happened to him."

"We're really sorry, Mr Universe. He's a really cool kid."

Greg nodded. "Yeah, he really is."

"I hope he's okay, wherever he is." Sadie sighed. "I mean, he's got Lars. The two of them can put their heads together and think of a way out of... whatever that thing was. What was that thing, anyway?"

"It was one of those Gems."

She frowned. "Wait, aren't Gems the people Steven lives with? I thought they were all about saving the world."

"Uh, it's... a little more complicated than that." He left it at that, unsure of how much information the Crystal Gems would want him revealing, and an awkward silence settled between them.

"Hey, Greg!" Vidalia stuck her head through the door. "I was gonna ask you- oh, hey Sadie! I didn't know you were up there with Sour Cream."

"We were just doing some recording, Mom."

"Yeah. Is-is that a problem? I could just-"

"No, no, don't worry about it." Vidalia waved a hand. "I'll just cook something else to go with dinner. Hey Greg, you wanna help me in the kitchen?"

"Oh, sure!" Greg moved towards the kitchen. "It was nice to see you two. I'm sorry to hear about your friend, Sadie."

"And I'm sorry to hear about Steven. I can't imagine what that feels like." She looked down. "But, I mean, he goes on these Gem missions all the time, right? Lars and him, they'll be back, right?"

Greg put on a smile. "Um... don't worry about it. They'll be fine."

Then he followed Vidalia into the kitchen.


	2. Chapter 2

"And then he says, 'You people have too much money!" Greg wiped his eyes. "It's, it's probably a little funnier when you watch it."

Sadie shrugged. "No, no, it sounds... funny. An orphan boy forced to work as a butler for a rich family is... an interesting premise!"

"Huh, never thought of it like that." He took a bite of mashed potato. "Vidalia, thish ish the besht!"

"Yeah, thank you so much for cooking something extra for me!"

"Thanks, Mom."

"You're welcome. And hey, thanks to Greg for making the carrots!" Vidalia leaned back. "It's nice to see so many people over. I can't remember the last time we filled the whole table up; can you, Onion?"

Onion shook his head, ducking under the table.

"Hey, it's alright. You wanna sit on my lap?" She wrapped him in a hug. "Oof, you're getting big, aren'tcha?"

Greg looked over. "Is Onion okay?"

"Yeah, he's still a little sketched out after what happened."

"Aww, I don't blame you." Sadie made a face. "Getting caught up in that... thing, that Gem, that was the scariest day of my life. I almost didn't want to come today, you know?" She looked down, and fiddled with her fork. "Just wanted to stay inside."

Onion nodded vigourously.

"Yeesh, that sounds tough." Sour Cream looked over. "Glad you came, though."

Greg smiled. "Yeah, I'm glad you came too. In times like these... it's kind of nice to be with friends, isn't it?"

"Yeah... yeah, it is."

"You said it, Greg." Vidalia grinned back. "I'm glad both of you came for dinner. You're always welcome around my place."

"Thanks, Vidalia." Greg looked around at the empty plates and stood up. "You need any help with the dishes?"

"Wow, if you could, I'd really appreciate it." She squinted out the window at a pair of headlights. "Who's that pulling up outside?"

Sadie jumped up. "Oh, that must be my mom! Sorry guys, but I gotta go."

Sour Cream waved. "Seeya around, Doughnut Girl."

"Take care, kid!"

"Come back anytime!"

"Thanks! I'll, um, see you guys!" Sadie put on her coat, and started out the door. "Bye!"

She zipped up her coat as she started towards the car. Before she had even opened the door, her mother stuck her head out the window.

"Sadie! You have a good time with your little friends?"

"Yeah... I had a really nice time, actually." She looked back to the way. "Kinda wish I could stay longer. Do you wanna come inside-"

"No, we agreed to this time, and no later!" Barb's hands tightened on the steering wheel. "It's dangerous out here at night. But hey, we can get home, heat up some cocoa, maybe watch one of those TV shows you've been texting your friends about?"

"Huh?" Sadie frowned at her mother. "Wait, did you go through my phone?"

"Yes, but-"

"I can't believe you, Mom! That's my phone; it's private!"

"Yeah... yeah, you're right, Sadie." Barb sighed. "You know, I was just so worried, and I was thinking, maybe you got some message from the thing that took you, or... I don't know. I don't know what I was thinking, honey."

Sadie looked away. "I get that you're scared for me, Mom. I'm... really scared too. But it feels, I dunno, it feels like we've gone back to square one, y'know? After Beachapaloosa, we were doing really well, but-"

"But I've gone back to being an overbearing mother, huh?" Barb nodded. "I'm sorry, honey. I'll work on it, I promise." She hesitated. "You wanna, go back and 'hang' with your friends a little more?"

Through the window, Sadie saw Greg sitting on the couch, back facing them, with Vidalia's arm on his shoulders. He was hunched over, and his head was in his hands. Sour Cream was nowhere to be seen.

"No," Sadie grimaced. "I think they're busy."

"Ah jeez, poor Greg." Barb sighed, and put a hand on Sadie's shoulder. "Can't imagine what the guy must be going through, with his kid being taken an' all. I'll have to drop by his carwash sometime, give him my condolences."

"Yeah." Sadie turned back to her mother, and smiled. "I love you, Mom."

"Love you too, Sadie. More than anything in the world." She planted a kiss on her daughter's forehead, and the put her key in the ignition. "Now, let's get on home!"

They passed by the boardwalk on the way home, lit sparsely by the last few shops closing up for the night. Sadie thought of something funny.

"Hey Mom, why did you think I was texting that giant alien kidnapper?"

Barb grinned. "Well, maybe that was a bit irrational. But your mama wasn't thinking so straight when you first came home, and all Greg could tell me was that you'd been kidnapped by some big yellow thing. It just, uh, it struck me as a possibility, you know?"

"Haha, I guess... Do you- wait, nevermind."

"Something on your mind, Sadie?"

"Well, I've just been thinking, what was that thing that took us? It was like two people, but then they combined to make one big person. And where are they taking Lars and Steven?" Sadie shook her head. "I mean, I knew Steven had something going on, but this seems so much bigger. I just wish I knew a bit more about what it was, who these mystery people are that came and took us."

Barb said nothing.

"Hey, look, there's Steven's house!" Sadie pointed, then frowned. "The lights are still on."

"Maybe it's those three ladies Steven lives with."

"Yeah... the Gems." She frowned. "Hey, Mom, could you stop the car a second?"

"Uh, sure. Why?"

"I just want to ask them something." She opened the door. "You can come, if you-"

"If I want? I'm right behind you, Sadie!"

"Okay." Sadie stepped down, feeling her foot sink into the sand. "Let's, um, let's do this."

They trudged across the beach, the gentle waves washing in and out next to them. Rounding the cliffs, Barbara and Sadie climbed the steps to arrive at Steven's house.

It didn't look different at all, Sadie thought. It was hard to believe her friend wasn't living there anymore. He was in space, somewhere, with Lars.

"You alright, honey?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She composed herself and reached a hand up to the door.

 _Knock, knock, knock._

The gentle sound faded out quickly, leaving only silence. Sadie knocked again.

 _Knock, knock, knock_.

Nobody answered.

"Maybe they're not home." Barbara scratched her head. "Eh, we can always come back later."

Sadie caught something at the edge of her vision; was that something, or someone, behind the counter? She raised her hand, just one last time.

 _Knock, knock, knock_.

Dead silence. No movement. Sadie sighed.

"Yeah, forget about it. Let's go home."


End file.
